Austria a country that is reluctant to vaccinate? After the low number of corona booster vaccinations and the resurgence of measles in the country, Austria is also lagging behind in international comparison when it comes to flu vaccinations. The vaccination rate against flu is not only at a very low level, but has even fallen slightly compared to the previous season.
The Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH) stated this in a broadcast on Tuesday. This means that the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) are still far from being met. The ÖVIH calculated a vaccination rate of only 13.35 percent for Austria this season.
Only a few countries remain below the recommendation so far
To do this, the association used the doses distributed by the manufacturers and related them to the total population according to Statistics Austria. For comparison: in the 2022/23 season it was 13.62 percent. However, the WHO and the EU Council recommend a vaccination rate of 75 percent for vulnerable groups, such as people over 65 years of age. Even though this is only achieved by Denmark, according to the ÖVIH, only a few countries are as far below that as Austria.
Germany, among others, has achieved a vaccination rate of more than 40 percent in this group in recent years.
Victims only appear in the statistics afterwards
The current flu season has passed its peak, according to the latest figures from the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). You can only see in retrospect how many victims it claimed. More than 4,000 deaths occurred in the 2022/2023 season. The flu vaccination is expressly recommended in the Austrian vaccination plan for vulnerable groups, but also for everyone who wants to protect themselves.
For the 2023/24 season, a public vaccination program was launched for the first time for all population groups, with vaccination offered to anyone interested for a prescription fee and accompanied by a media vaccination campaign. “Unfortunately, this has not changed the overall vaccination rate,” said ÖVIH president Renée Gallo-Daniel.
Medical Association: Vaccination campaign “did not work satisfactorily”
Criticism also came from the Medical Association: “In the current flu season, the national vaccination campaign did not work satisfactorily from an organizational and logistical point of view,” said Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, vice-president and chairman of the Curia of Residential Doctors. of the Medical Association for Vienna. “Vaccines were sometimes not available or could not be ordered for doctors. In addition, the free flu vaccination, for which a deductible applies, proved to be an obstacle.”
On December 1, about 180 ordinations in Vienna took place without a vaccine. “For the coming season, there is an urgent need to ensure a vaccination campaign that is easily and truly free, as well as sufficient and well-distributed flu vaccines to meet the need,” Kamaleyan-Schmied demanded.
Source: Krone
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